CEZ and Erste Bank were among the day’s leaders. CEZ reacted to the better than forecasted quarterly report, Erste Bank had no relevant news flow. Cesky Telecom traded as high as CZK 346.50 towards the close on what we believe was a short covering. We believe some accounts shorted stock ahead of the widely expected placement, nonetheless recently refreshed reports on interest from Swisscom put overhang issue in doubt. We though reiterate our view that placement will be the sale method at the end of the day and that pricing will be only marginally below or even at the current market levels. We are watching Telekom Austria these days, where Austrian government is rumoured to offload 17% stake in telecom operator by the end of this week. Telekom Austria managed to close in a positive territory despite the offering speculation suggesting appetite for telco assets among portfolio investors is strong. We expect similar behaviour pattern to occur in relation to Cesky Telecom sale. Volume in SPAD reached USD 60.76 m.
Milan Procházka, Patria Finance